Every few years some genius decides to revive the Transformers story and bring it back to television. We’ve seen just about every version of the Transformers come and go: Beast Wars, Cybertron, Armada, Energon, Robots in Disguise. The list goes on and on.
And every time a new version of Transformers makes it to air, G1 fans cross their fingers, hoping against hope that the Transformers they know and love will not be sacrilegiously defiled. And every time those fans are sorely disappointed. Instead of returning to watch the Transformers they grew up with, they choose to pass, saying, “Well it’s not G1, but at least the next generation of children will enjoy it. Maybe they’ll like it so much, that they’ll do their research, buy the G1 DVDs and learn about what it means to be a real Transformer.”
Admittedly, Transformers Armada wasn’t “too bad.” It was bearable to watch. If you watch Beast Wars, it has its entertaining moments… though at the time hard core G1 fans opted to “go play outside” over watching the series.
Then when news of a movie got out a few years ago, G1 fans were excited. But that excitement was tempered with apprehension. Would the creative team (writers, director, producer) stay true to the G1 feel? Because that was what G1 was, it was more than a mindless cartoon to watch. It was something that was a part of you. The Transformers were real characters. The stories evoked feelings and emotions.
You watched Optimus Prime, voiced by Peter Cullen, and you saw a role model. You saw someone with ideals, who despite being a robot, had human frailties. You saw someone willing to risk it all to save not just his friends but the fate of the entire galaxy.
“Megatron must be stopped no matter the cost.”
We all remember that line from the original Transformers the movie. And with good reason. That line encapsulated what it meant to be Optimus Prime. Optimus went into battle knowing he wouldn’t make it out alive. And fans loved him for that.
After Transformers hit the big screen in live action, you walked out of the theater satisfied. It was good, not great. But it was true to the Transformers. It was real. The creators had done their research, and grabbed Peter Cullen to voice Optimus Prime. The G1 grittiness was there. It was war, and there were casualties. Cullen’s opened the movie and you felt like you did in the 1980s. The Transformers were back.
Now, there’s a series on the block called “Transformers: Animated.” I’ve just caught an episode and there’s one word to describe it. BAD! No seriously, it’s terrible. It’s a slapstick knock off and utter mutilation of the Transformers. It’s only the Transformers in name, not spirit. You’ll watch it and feel like you’re watching “Mucha Lucha,” which is a cool cartoon BUT NOT TRANSFORMERS.
I’m not sure what they were going for in creating this, but they obviously have no idea of who the Transformers are. I say who instead of what, because the Transformers became a living breathing entity. That’s what people fail to understand.
The creators of “Transformers: Animated” didn’t take the time to learn about the characters they were bringing back to TV. They didn’t take the time to analyze what makes the Transformers great. Read the comics, watch the original series, understand the essence of what made the Transformers last for those many seasons. It’s the underlying power of who the Transformers were that gave it the power to be revived time and time again in different genres like Looney Tunes.
It’s not just a bunch of robots that transform. That was Go-Bots.
Why sacrifice integrity? Why create a slapstick cartoon that looks like “Dexter’s Lab” except with robots? Urggh. GI Joe was ruined with Sigma 6 and now the Transformers are on their way out. Maybe people think that a cartoon can’t be serious and is only meant for 2 year olds. But when you look at Anime, most Anime has an adult feeling. Even look at “Justice League” or “The Batman” - both series came back and still can capture an audience no matter the age. There’s humor - sure. It’s not the original - no problem. The drama and intensity is still there. Heck, even Yu-Gi-Oh felt more real than “Transformers: Animated.”
In closing, the message is simple: If you can’t bring back Transformers the way it should be done, then just don’t do it.
Sure the series may be nice for children now. But they don’t know any better. They don’t realize there was a better cartoon series out, the original transformers G1. So yeah, to them it may be good. but you can tell this article was written for the original fans. People who know the full history of the transformers - not some fresh out of college student’s rendition of transformers that looks like a bad anime mish-mosh.
Hey, it’s like if the only thing you ever saw was Barney and the Power Rangers of course you’d think they were great. But compare them against Transformers G1, and you got a load of horse shit.
well the shows meant for kids so idc
i dont care for it but its not all that bad
my nephew loves it.
Actually I really like the animated cartoon for transformers. I think the story lines are much more iinteresting than the older cartoons. Also they didn’t screw around with the complex transforming scenes and focused on story line instead. GO ANIMATED TRANSFORMERS!!
i absolutley agree with this article, humblebee your a moron, tranformers is a worldwide craze oday BECOUSE of the origianl seasons, i bet if this series was out back then, transformers would have flopped, and we woulda never seen it again, im only 19, i was born after transformers aired, and i caught the repeats, but i know quality when i see it, i also love dexters lab etc, but this right, the transformers should be about war, great characters and a lot of humour nbetween, but not this slapstick mess its become, i also loved bays movie, different, but solid, with a few ( loads actually ) lame jokes,
You are damn LOSER!!!!.. can’t get over the old show. To make you appreciate the show , why dont you stop comparing it to the old generation its obviously can not be like the old. Their target audience are the young ones who’s fanatic of Cartoon Network that’s why it looks like dexter and can not be usual transformers you seen in your age. Go out to your room and have a life , and please stop playing those antique toys
Badly animated!? you mean gen1 was badly animated? boy, you really have no idea man……get transformer history little boy…..
i like pie
I personally think that if you have no IDEA what this is about i’m one of the watchers and think it’s funny, drama and weird all at once!!!!
BEAST WARS,
HUH?! i don’t get it!
BEAST WARS PWNTS ALL OF YOU!!!!
plz reply
BUT I STILL LOVE THE SHOW!
O and Prowl is sooo kool i personally like (not love) like him because he’s all about nature himself and HIM, HIM AND MORE HIM!!!! IT’S SOOO ANNOYING!!
I think that when people take the old badly animated transformers and turn them into these wonderful works of art it’s fantastic!! some people think that this new series SUCKS or is the worst yet but i strongly disagree!! People that think this new series is stupid are obviously blind to a new generation of transformers animated fans! also the one that says “use your head not your thrusters is fantastic!!” it teaches kids think before you act. And Generation 1 you shouldn’t influence on peoples mood with your HORRIBLY written SA on transformers animated. anyone who reads this comment please have in mind the children of the U.S are LOVING the new transformers and last who ever wrote this YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOO WRONG!!!!!! I PERSONALLY LOVE TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED OVER BAKUGAN!!!!
I love transformers animated I think that its awesome. sure its a little childish but who cares, its funny nun-the-less. And most people are entitled to there own opinions, this just happens to mine.
some people are idiots i mean what is so bad about transformers animated it is great and iv only watched 3 episodes its not my personal favorite but my favorite is gen 2 but i think that these people did a good job not great job still its good so people who don’t respect it are damn idiots
it just sucks when heartless animators today take a part of your childhood and rip it up to shreds! much like the first animated X-men, and so are the movie versions! i mean come on! i just cant take it nowadays when all they do is portray the Autobots like a bunch of weak bots trying all they can to stop a wee bit of decepticon onslaught! THE NEW TRANSFORMERS SUCKS!!!!!! and ….No, whoever you are. please…… i dont think you have any idea of what we Gen 1’s are talking about here. you mess with a character as inspirational like Optimus Prime, better expect some harsh criticisms. i mean the new prime just acts like an idiot in the new series. even in the movie he was no much for megatron, which is pretty silly. if you wont treat our childhhod with respect, better leave it alone. for us, its just like making an “epic movie” version of Homer’s Iliad
I like the robot with the 3 different faces but I only like two of the personalities… (the Halloween lookin one and the smarter one) I don’t really watch the show much cause its only on a like 5:00 a.m I’m just waiting for pokemon to come on.
It’s sad when this new generation of transformers or pseudo-transformers fans have no clue, or rather “…No” clue, as to what the Transformers is really about.
And then to have the nerve to compare this new version of Transformers with Batman or X-Men. You really are dumb. Oh well, such is the case with the new generation. Maybe after you stop drinking breast milk you’ll realize that G1 is still the only version of Transformers worth mentioning. But I guess you’re too busy playing with your happy meal toys.
By the way to have the nerve to say someone is whining, right after you wrote 7 paragraphs of whining is just asinine. Actually your just an ASS. Nuff Said.
oh yea, you’re just whining. Don’t waste everyone’s time reading your complains.